We want our kids to read. We want them to read instead of watching so much TV or playing with the iPad. So we make up rules or create incentives to motivate them to pick up a book (I’ll give you a dollar for every book you finish this year).
What we don’t do enough is actually the easiest and clearest form of teaching: We don’t provide a good example.
How often do your kids catch you reading? How often do they see you with a book in your hands? You want them to read, but do you read regularly to them? You tell them books are important, that books are fun, but where is the evidence?
If you want your kids to read more, show them what a reader looks like. Talk to them about books. Make books a central part of your house…and your lives. Think about those curse words they know. You’ve actually been trying to get them not to use them…but where did your kids pick them up? By watching you.
And what’s true for books is true for just about anything—being healthy, being kind, being a hard worker.
